By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent
In the past five years, solar capacity in Georgia has gone through the roof. It’s grown so fast, in fact, that it is ranked as the 10th largest solar state according to the Solar Energy Industries Association’s annual rankings.
But just because it’s grown rapidly doesn’t mean it’s grown evenly. The growth Georgia has seen has mostly accrued to the state’s largest utility, Georgia Power, instead of individuals and businesses owning their own rooftop systems.
One group – Solarize Middle Georgia – is looking to even the playing field a bit, at least according to an article in the Macon (Georgia) Telegraph.
This isn’t the first Solarize movement to take up residence in the Peach State. As the article states:
Similar initiatives have taken place in other Georgia communities, like Athens-Clarke County, where residents are able to sign up for free evaluations that could help determine if solar is a worthy investment.
“The price of solar has come down 70 percent since 2010,” said Don Moreland, executive director of Solar CrowdSource who is also involved in Solarize Middle Georgia, told the Telegraph. “Some of the incentives that used to be in place have gone away. Solar is now competitive with what you would otherwise pay for the utility bill. … You come out way ahead with solar compared to other electric bills.”
Overall, the story is a good one, though there are a couple of flaws. One is that it misdiagnoses the module glut of the early 2000s as a “too many companies” problem rather than a “too many panels” problem. They also overestimate the costs of solar and make it seem more expensive than it really is.
But the key here is that rooftop solar, despite having no governmental support (no net metering, for example), is coming to the middle of the state. And when that segment of the industry takes off, there will be no stopping solar growth in the state.
More:
Georgia is full of solar power, but not among homeowners. This group wants to change that.